Down and out in the magic kingdom
May 13th, 2008 by Scott
Let me start out by saying, I don’t like Disneyland. There, I said it. I’m pretty sure it is against the Patriot Act to not like Disneyland and I’m not looking forward to spending (another) year on the do-not-fly list, but I had to say it. There is just something…well…just not right about it. It is too happy. There are too many people. Too much gross food. Too much stuff.
Don’t get me wrong, I have very fond memories of Disneyland as a child. This was before I learned about intellectual property and Disney’s absurd stance on copyright law. It was also before I saw a movie made by Pixar, which made Disney movies pale in comparison. All that being said, we felt it was our duty as parents to take Niko to Disneyland. That and we couldn’t pass up a chance to hang out with Lynn, Steven, Connor, Neil, and Gregd. So while we had a great time hanging out with the crew, enjoying delicious dinners, swimming in the pool, and Jul and I got some evening time to finish season 3 of The Wire, the Disneyland part just sucked. This had nothing to do with me not liking Disneyland, or Jul not liking Disneyland (although it didn’t help), but really just came down to one simple thing:
Niko hated Disneyland.
I’m serious. He hated it. On the second day when we said, “Hey, Niko, we are going to Disneyland!” He said, “Disneyland…people…” and let out a big sigh. This turned into his sad mantra throughout the visit (“Disneyland…people…<sigh>”). Of course he hated waiting in line. This was like being on the airplane, only with less personal space. He was completely unimpressed with the rides — we might have well been sitting on the airplane. The parade? Barely registered. And as his sad mantra says, he was completely frustrated by the concentration of people. How is a boy suppose to run with all these people around?
We found two areas where he wasn’t miserable. They are redoing It’s a Small World, so the area is pretty much deserted. He was pretty happy running around and finding ants in this deserted area. He also was pretty happy running around in Toon Town. But really, Toon Town wasn’t all that unlike the park, except with scary dressed up Disney characters.
By the way, if any of you ever start a theme park where there are thousands of screaming children, super long lines, and huge crowds, please, please, please serve alcohol.
[flv]http://happyinwater.com/nicholas/videos/running-at-disney.flv[/flv]
4 Responses to “Down and out in the magic kingdom”
the pictures say it all – the expression is not happy. 🙂 we go in october – free of lines, and cooler weather. that said, the older boys enjoy it more than kiran (who doesn’t like the rides or the characters).
I’ll go you one better. I don’t like anything Disney, except the movie “Parent Trap.” On my 5th birthday my mother took me to my first movie as a special treat. We arrived slightly late and the theater was already dark. A giant head of Mickey Mouse filled the screen. I screamed and fought my way out of the building. My mother refused to take me to the movies ever again, and I’ve never liked Mickey Mouse or any of the other cartoon characters very much.
I love the “I’m willing to look sober but not willing to look happy” looks on Niko’s parents’ faces.
And I’m with you on Disneyland.
I hate Disneyland too… but find it classic that Niko didn’t like it. On another note, did you hear WHY they had to remodel Its A Small World? The boats and moat were made for a family of 5 in the ’50s. A typical American family of 5 today is too FAT for the boats. They were bottoming out.